1,700 pounds of drugs seized by El Paso customs agents; 5 arrested

Federal agents working on the border seized more than 1,700 pounds of drugs over the weekend and arrested five people, including a man from Mexico who offered information on a slaying in Chihuahua.

In El Paso, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested a 30-year-old Chihuahua man Monday after they discovered more than 400 pounds of marijuana in the man's pickup, officials said.

Julio C?sar Portillo L?pez, of Chihuahua City, was driving a pickup into the U.S. at the Paso del Norte bridge about 5:30 p.m. Monday, customs officials said.

Customs officers searched the truck and discovered "a number of anomalies" during the search and their interview with Portillo L?pez. A drug-sniffing dog alerted officers to the truck's undercarriage, and a density meter also gave officers high readings "consistent with concealed contraband," officials said.

Officers allegedly found 258 marijuana-filled bundles hidden in the truck's bed and cabin. The bundles weighed a total of 437 pounds.

Portillo L?pez is being held at the El Paso County Jail without bond.

Agents at the immigration checkpoint on U.S. 54 near Alamogordo on Friday seized 112 pounds of marijuana that had been hidden inside the gas tank of a sport utility vehicle.

The vehicle's driver, Oscar Rafael Chavez, 32, was taken into custody and turned over to agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

On Saturday, agents working another checkpoint on Highway 70 near Alamogordo arrested Mary Ann Frescas, 41, and her sister Margie Ann Gray, 42, after finding more than 520 pounds of marijuana in a U-Haul truck they were traveling in. Agents said they were tipped off the to marijuana by a drug-sniffing dog after the women provided inconsistent information.

The women also were turned over to DEA agents.

Officials said agents assigned to the Lordsburg Station in the Bootheel of New Mexico found a dozen backpacks filled with a total of 633 pounds of marijuana. Agents searched the area but were unable to find any smugglers or additional drugs.

U.S. Border Patrol agents on Friday in Clint arrested Jos? Alonso Nevarez Luján, 55, of Mexico for being in the U.S. illegally. During a check of his criminal record, agents discovered Nevarez Luján had an "extensive immigration and criminal history" that included a cocaine conviction in Denver, officials said Monday.

Officials said during his interview with agents, Nevarez Luján volunteered information on a slaying in Pe?a Blanca, Chihuahua, Mexico. Officials didn't release additional information on the slaying but said the Border Patrol's International Liaison Unit in El Paso is "coordinating with Mexican authorities to clarify this case."

Nevarez Luján was booked into the El Paso County Jail and is awaiting criminal and immigration proceedings.

Adriana M. Chávez may be reached at achavez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6117. Follow her on Twitter @AChavezEPTimes